


Least Favorite Patients

by EmotionalRobots



Series: TOA Prompt Fills [2]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Bonding with Grumpy Goatpa, Fever Dreams, Gen, He's not very good at it though, Overworking, Sickfic, Vendel tries not to care, he really does
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-25 03:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21349330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalRobots/pseuds/EmotionalRobots
Summary: Prompt fill for the amazing ladyismeofmosswood:"Shortly after the Battle of Two Bridges but before Jim agrees to take Claire to Trollmarket, the stress catches up with him and he collapses from a high fever while training at Heroes' Forge. As a result, he is brought to Vendel to be healed and has to spend a couple of days as the surly old troll's least favorite patient. Yes this is a fun excuse to see Jim and Vendel interact more. Bonus if Draal is also still laid up at the Heartstone because of his hand."
Series: TOA Prompt Fills [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1451590
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Least Favorite Patients

Something, Blinkous thought, was not right about this picture.

In the days following the Battle of Two Bridges, Jim and Toby had begged to be able to up their training regimen. He’d enforced the very important and definitely-not-made-up rule that the Trollhunter needs to suspend _all_ training for at least three days after the Killahead Bridge is opened. Did he lie to his charges? Perhaps, but it was for their own good. It was his understanding, after all, that humans can be felled much more easily than trolls. If he and Aaarrrgghh!!! were drained after the battle, Blinky could only imagine how the children felt. However, today, the fourth day, the day upon which he had no “rule” with which to keep his wards from picking up where they left off… well. He couldn’t tell them no, and so Blinkous resigned himself to observing the boys’ warm-up with Aaarrrgghh!!! from the ground. It was something he’d done plenty often, and yet he couldn’t quite force the unease from his mind. The thought hammered in the back of his mind like a chisel on stone: _something is wrong_.

“Focus, Blinkous.” The troll muttered to himself as he tracked the three Hunters maneuvering about the Forge each with one pair of eyes. Something wasn’t right, what’s missing?

Tobias let out a gleeful whoop as he was launched at the current objective, a flag planted at the top of the multi-tiered obstacle course. He misses it by only a foot or two, careening over the top before being caught effortlessly by his kruberan friend. All seemed well with him. Blinkous also noted that everything appeared to be in order with Aaarrrgghh!!! as he watched him toss his wingman up towards the flag again, effortless as ever.

An errant glint of light drew the bookworm’s attention to the Trollhunter himself. Clad in his armor, Jim weaved cautiously through a set of spinning totems before flinging himself up onto the next platform. It was at this point that Blinkous noticed that he was behind- or, in this case, below- his fellow hunters by a considerable margin. That didn’t sit well with him at all; Jim loved Capture the Flag Day. He’d normally be a few platforms ahead of Tobias by now, if not Aaarrrgghh!!! as well.

If one were seated next to Blinkous right now, they might have been able to hear the gears turning in his head as he stood. He made his way over to the system of levers that controlled the Forge’s mechanical features, stubby legs making inordinately large, purposeful strides. In a matter of seconds, he had the marvelous spire descending slowly to the floor.

“Aw, what?!” Toby hollered over the sound of turning stone cogs. Aaarrrgghh!!! snatched the boy out of the air as he flew past before jumping the last few feet to the arena floor. Now both solidly back on the ground, they ambled in Blinky’s direction, looking somewhere in-between annoyed and concerned.

“No fun.” Aaarrrgghh!!! grumbled as he pulled the best pout he could, which was surprisingly convincing for such an intimidating figure.

“What’s up, Blink?” Tobias asked as he hopped free from the troll’s grip. “If you wanted a turn, you could have just said so.”

“Master Jim?” Blinkous called up to the lowest still-descending platform. “Could you join us down here for a moment?” Rather than jump down the way he normally would, Jim simply waited for the spire to return to the ground. Worse, he still hadn’t said a word. He crossed one pair of arms over his chest as he left the group to approach the boy.

“Master Jim.” he prompted again, stepping around his friends to approach the teen. “Would you care to tell us what’s the matter? You normally love the flag game…” his voice was firm, but not harsh, and something about his tone got the Trollhunter’s attention. Jim’s eyes snapped to the troll as if he had just noticed him standing there.

“Blinky?” he mumbled. His eyes were clouded and his expression was dazed. “I… I don’t- B-Blink…?”

Time seemed to slow down as Jim’s knees buckled. Blinkous rushed forward to catch his ward, barely getting one pair of hands around him to keep his head from hitting the floor. The teen gave a startled whimper. Behind him, Blinky could hear their fellow hunters shout in alarm, rushing towards the two of them on the ground.

“Master Jim?!” The Daylight armor disappeared, and four hands checked over the boy for injuries. No blood, no breaks, no bruises. Jim tried to speak, but any words he tried to form came out as an incoherent groan. It was at this point that Blinkous noticed the amount of heat rolling off the boy. Now up close, he could see that Jim’s hair was slicked with sweat, matted to his forehead. He used one hand to push the raven locks away from his face. He was pale, the troll realized, too pale. “Aaarrrgghh!!!, go get Vendel, please?” he called, moving to place the boy flat on the ground. The Krubera left several seconds ago, not that Blinky noticed.

“Jimbo? Hey!“ Toby dropped to his knees beside the pair, panic etched into his features. “Jim, what’s wrong, man?” said boy seemed to be quickly losing the fight to stay conscious. His unfocused eyes drifted back and forth between Blinky and Toby.

“Cold…” Jim managed. A sharp, wheezing cough followed the admission. What began as a slight tremor was now violent shaking as the boy tried to curl in on himself to preserve heat. As Toby performed his own once-over of his best friend, his brow furrowed in concern and confusion.

“Jeez, he’s burning up…” he slipped off his sweater-vest before tucked it under Jim’s head. “He never said he was sick. What the h-”

_“-Out of my way!”_ Blinky heard Vendel’s voice echo from somewhere outside of the arena’s entrance. He placed a hand on Jim’s shoulder as the teen hissed in discomfort.

“Help is on the way, Master Jim.” No sooner than he finished saying so, Aaarrrgghh!!! charged back into the Heroes’ Forge, Vendel barely half a step behind. In an instant, Blinkous found himself being pushed aside by the elder.

“What happened?” Vendel snapped, shooting a sidelong glance at the bookworm. The old goat dropped into a crouch beside the boy, one hand hovering over his limp form. Evaluating his condition, Blinkous assumed.

“I dunno, dude, he just passed out!” Toby cried as he too was none-too-gently nudged away by the elder. Vendel’s eyes narrowed as he looked the unconscious teen over. Once he was satisfied that Jim was physically intact, he pulled himself back to his feet with his staff, gesturing for Blinky to pick up the Trollhunter.

“Bring him to the Heartstone,” Vendel drawled, the concern in his voice betraying his usual gruff demeanor. “I can examine him better there.”

[]

Outside of the Heartstone apothecary, Blinkous paced back and forth, anxious energy rolling off of him in waves. Toby and Aaarrrgghh!!! sat on a pile of mid-size boulders facing the entrance to Vendel’s dwell. While he took some comfort from his place in Aaarrrgghh!!!’s lap, the human boy was still coiled as tight as a spring. He’d been like that since Jim collapsed nearly two hours ago, and would likely remain in such a state until he could see that his best friend was okay.

“Come sit.” Aaarrrgghh!!! coaxed, attempting to catch Blinky’s attention. He went unacknowledged, as with the last few times he’d tried to calm the smaller troll. All he’d been able to do since they’d been shooed out of the Heartstone was listen to the anxious bookworm mutter to himself.

“How did I not notice this?” Blinkous huffed as he turned on his heels to begin another lap around the small waiting area. “He was so quiet when he came in, why didn’t I think to ask if he was okay?” Step, step, turn. “What if- what if Vendel can’t help him? What if he never wakes up? What if-“

_“Blinky.”_ The krubera rumbled, warning simmered in his tone. In his arms, Toby curled into himself further. The historian flinched, as if realizing for the first time that he was talking to himself aloud.

“I…” Blinkous seemed at a loss for words as he stopped his pacing to face his fellow hunters. “I apologize, Tobias. I tend to get a bit carried away when…” he turned back towards the Heartstone, and four shoulders sagged with a sigh as he gazed at the top of the crystal. “Well, when any of you are in peril.”

“He’s gonna be fine, though, right?” Toby inquired quietly from his safe space in his wingman’s lap. “Like, l-like this isn’t some sort of crazy troll-plague or something is it?”

“Gracious, no!” Blinky assured him. The bookworm immediately dropped to sit cross-legged facing his fellow hunters. “The plague was eradicated nearly a century ago!” he offered a meek smile to the boy, who seemed to uncoil slightly as he listened to the historian’s logical thought process. “Besides, even if there _were_ Trollish afflictions that might affect you two, I doubt any of them would produce symptoms quite like this.” With a sigh, Blinkous crossed his lower set of arms before placing his upper elbows atop them and resting his chin on two fists.

“Did too much.” Aaarrrgghh!!! supplied with a sagely nod. “Back too early.”

“Precisely, old friend.”

From their place outside the entrance, the three hunters could hear the distant thud of Vendel’s staff against the stone floor. It got closer each time they heard it, and they leapt to their feet as the healer emerged from the inner sanctum of the Heartstone. Blinkous was immediately on his feet, anxiously wringing both pairs of hands as the healer approached. “How is he?”

“Incredibly _foolish.”_ Vendel gave an aggravated huff. He strolled alongside Blinkous toward the other two hunters. Although his expression was the same neutral-yet-slightly-disappointed look he normally wore, his tone betrayed the concern he had for the boy. “The Trollhunter is lucky you summoned me when you did. He-”

“Is Jim okay?!” Toby all but yelled. Vendel blinked at the interruption, further set his scowl, and continued.

“He will be.” The old goat assured him. _“Provided_ he actually takes the time to recover.” Vendel craned his neck downward to meet Blinky’s six worry-filled eyes. “Blinkous…” For just a moment, the historian saw Vendel’s unemotive mask slip. Concern and exhaustion were etched into his features, and he sighed as he closed his eyes and internally lamented the loss of his façade.

“It’s quite clear that our Trollhunter has not been looking after himself.” He reopened his clouded eyes, the stern look securely back on his face. “I must recommend that he stay within the Heartstone where he can be observed.”

“Can we see him?” Toby’s voice wavered slightly when he asked. The teen couldn’t seem to stand still, and he rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for Vendel’s answer. With an overly dramatic roll of his eyes, the seer turned around and started back into the Heartstone, motioning for the three Hunters to follow him.


End file.
